The Harvard women's soccer team will have to wait a little longer than it expected for the chance to face regional rival Hartford, as thunderstorms on Tuesday night denied the Crimson a chance to catch lightning in a bottle against the top-ranked team in New England.

But even before the weather caused the game to be postponed, the events prior to the scheduled game time left Harvard (2-1, 1-0 Ivy), ranked 16th in the latest poll by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), fuming.

Unbeknownst to the Crimson, the No. 9 Hawks had actually scheduled their game, slated to start at 7 p.m., as the second half of a doubleheader. That unto itself is not unusual, as schools frequently schedule their men's and women's games back-to-back. On this particular day, however, the men's game was running much longer than usual, as the Hartford men's team played to double-overtime against Quinnipiac.

As a result, the Crimson--having just made the trip all the way from Cambridge--did not have access to the varsity locker room usually reserved for the visiting team. In addition, Harvard was forced to take its warm-ups on a low-grade practice area while the men's teams played out their game on the main field.

By the time the first game had ended, officials for the women's game were forced to cancel the contest because of the worsening conditions, leaving the Crimson with a long bus ride home to stew over the incidents.

"They showed us no respect at all," said sophomore midfielder Orly Ripmaster. "To have the game cancelled after all that happened made it even worse."

Doubly frustrating for the Crimson was the missed opportunity to play a much-anticipated contest that would have given Harvard a chance to overtake the top spot in the Northeast rankings.

"That's the game we needed to determine where we stood," Ripmaster said. "It's also difficult not knowing when we will get the chance to play them."